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Piedmont Odds and Ends
Italy: Piedmont, Piedmont, featured
, May 2025
This small update covers a selection of wines that have come across my desk in between major reports. Many of the wines are from Roero, a small appellation that lies across the Tanaro River from Barbaresco. Arneis and Nebbiolo can be especially fine here.
Cellar Favorite: Ioppa Ghemme 1970-1975
Italy: Piedmont, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Mar 2025
History, expression of place, passion and artisan family values run deep at Ioppa. The Ioppas trace their lineage back seven generations, all the way to the mid-1800s, a time when life in the countryside was much harsher than it is today. This mini-vertical from the 1970s was a very pleasant surprise at the end of a day tasting through current releases. I tasted the wines with Giorgio Ioppa, his son Andrea, and consulting oenologist Cristiano Garella.
Alpine Soul: Exploring Alto Piemonte & Canavese
Italy: Piedmont, featured
, Feb 2025
I continue to be deeply impressed with the wines of Alto Piemonte and Canavese. Each year, I taste more wines from these appellations, a testament to a vibrant scene that continues to grow. Readers in search of wines that speak to the essence of site, variety and vintage, all delivered with cool-climate vibrancy, will find all that and more in this patchwork of small appellations in Northern Italy.
2021 Barolo: Changing Times, Changing Wines
Piedmont Report, Italy: Piedmont, featured
, Jan 2025
My November trip to Piedmont was one of the most intriguing in recent memory. Producers were living in a sort of suspended state, their thoughts bouncing back and forth from the challenges of the just-concluded 2024 harvest to excitement over the soon-to-be-released 2021s and the outcome of the recent presidential election in the United States. Against that very colorful background, I tasted a stunning array of new releases. The 2021 Barolos are finessed, elegant wines that will delight Piedmont fans.
Cellar Favorite: 2010 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate
Italy: Piedmont, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Dec 2024
A wine of mind-blowing complexity, Rinaldi’s 2010 Barolo Brunate is everything Barolo can be—powerful, refined, seductive, intensely aromatic, structured and so incredibly beautiful that words seem inadequate.
Barbaresco: The Stellar 2021s & Surprising 2022s
Italy: Piedmont, featured
, Oct 2024
The 2021 and 2022 vintages show two very different sides of Barbaresco. Now that most of the wines have been released, the early promise of 2021 is no longer a question of potential but of reality. These are vivid, exceptionally beautiful wines that show the heights Nebbiolo can reach. Conditions were much more challenging in 2022, and yet the first wines I have tasted suggest there may be some surprises in store. We will see.
2020 Barolo: Part Two
Italy: Piedmont, featured
, Sep 2024
This update rounds up our Barolo coverage for 2024, the majority of which was published earlier in the year. As usual, my early fall report focuses on wines that were bottled this past summer, along with several emerging estates that are new to our pages.
Alto Piemonte: Small Is Beautiful
Italy: Piedmont, featured
, Feb 2024
Alto Piemonte remains one of the most glorious, under the radar regions in the world. Wines of delicacy and transparency communicate the essence of site in the handful of villages that comprise this series of small appellations in Northern Italy. Many estates featured in this report are quite small, making some bottles hard to find. Nevertheless, consumers and professionals seeking fine, artisan wines of place that can diversify any cellar will find so much to admire in Alto Piemonte today.
Festa del Barolo 2023 Recap
Italy: Piedmont, featured
, Jan 2024
Festa del Barolo is right around the corner. As we make the final preparations, so many memories of the 2023 edition come rushing back. In 2023, we presented an expanded program of tastings, seminars and dinners. This is a look at some of the many highlights.
2020 Barolo: Selective Excellence
Italy: Piedmont, featured
, Jan 2024
Grace, elegance and understatement are some of the qualities readers will find in the 2020 Barolos. The best wines are undeniably striking. That said, the vintage is not an unqualified success, as the growing season presented its fair share of challenges. Overall, 2020 is a vintage of mid-weight Barolos. These are wines to admire for their balance and seductive appeal more than their power or structure.